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MST3K 1012 - Squirm
The second-to-last episode of the series, Squirm is a horror film about worms running rampant in a stereotypically southern town. The episode also features the third and final Sci-Fi Channel short, the long-sought A Case of Spring Fever. The Movie Synopsis At the beginning of the film, we learn from one of the characters that earthworms can be called to the surface with electricity, but somehow it turns them into vicious flesh-eaters. Sure enough, a storm that night causes some power lines to break and touch the ground, drawing millions of man-eating worms out of the earth and into town, where they quickly start munching on the locals. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075261/plotsummary Information *Kim Basinger auditioned for the female lead. *Sylvester Stallone eagerly pursued the casting agents for the part of Roger, and Martin Sheen was briefly attached to the project to play Mick. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075261/trivia ''A Case of Spring Fever'' Synopsis A mischievous imp named Coiley the Spring Sprite demonstrates the cosmic significance of springs to a doughy man who cursed springs by getting rid of all springs. The man learns his lesson, apologizes, and then goes on to preach to his golfing buddies about the importance of springs to their immense boredom. Information This short is famous for Coiley's quote, "No springs!", which he repeats several times. The Episode Host Segments Prologue: The annual safety check on the SOL reveals that it's completely unsafe. And suggests an alternative use for HAM radios. Segment 1: Pearl is happy! She organizes a fair at Castle Forrester, modestly beginning her quest for worldwide fair domination. She's not impressed by the Bots' prize pig, but she is wowed by some other offbeat attractions. There seems to be a lot happening on the satellite that Mike isn't aware of. Segment 2: Mikey the Mike Sprite visits. Segment 3: Servo has contracted an extreme case of Southern Belleness! it's up to Mike and Crow to Yankee him back to his senses. Segment 4 ''': Mike replicates the electrical experiment from the movie on his pal Emmett the worm. With delicious results. '''Segment 5: Crow tries to poke fun at the gangly younger sister in the movie by way of his really tall platform shoes. It's not long before he realizes the drawbacks of this plan. Back at the castle, Pearl appears to have seriously misunderstood the allure of bungee jumping. Come to the fair! Stinger: "You gon' be the worm-face!" Obscure References *''"Roger!" "Ramjet!"'' Roger Ramjet was a 1960s Saturday-morning cartoon about a comedic superhero. *''"My Tamagotchi seems okay!"'' The Tamagotchi or "digital" pet was a late 1990s fad that originated in Japan. *''"This Edgar Kennedy one-man show is going good."'' Edgar Kennedy was a popular comic actor during the 1920s and '30s. *''"Most bizarre freak of nature...oh, brocciflower!"'' Brocciflower is a genetically modified hybrid of broccoli and cauliflower. *''"Uh-oh, he's gonna get Dave Barry all over his head!"'' Dave Barry is a Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist who had a widely syndicated newspaper column until 2004. *''"The Jim Varney Library!"'' Comic actor Jim Varney was best known for playing the character Ernest P. Worrell. *''"I'm switching it to the all-'Philadelphia Freedom' station."'' "Philadelphia Freedom" is an Elton John song recorded in 1975. *''"...and the yam that looks like Lyndon LaRouche!"'' Lyndon LaRouche is an American political activist and perennial third-party presidential candidate, known for his bizarre, conspiracy-obsessed worldview and the cultlike movement that has grown up around him. *''"The Ford station wagon: Unsmall at any speed."'' A reference to Unsafe at Any Speed, a book written by Ralph Nader in the 1960s. *''"Lowly Worm's Worst Day Ever!"'' Lowly Worm was a character in Richard Scarry's Busytown children's books. *''"It's Chuck Wepner's skull!"'' Boxer Chuck Wepner challenged Muhammad Ali for the world heavyweight title in a 1975 bout that loosely inspired the first Rocky movie. *''"Please, I need to get back into Gary Hart's closet!"'' Former Colorado senator Gary Hart campaigned for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988, but dropped out of the race after a heavily publicized sex scandal tarnished his popularity. *''"...John Birch Society literature..."'' The John Birch Society is an extreme right-wing American political organization. *''"It's the skull of Mortimer Snerd!"'' Mortimer Snerd was a dummy used by ventriloquist Edgar Bergen, who was more famous for Charlie McCarthy. *''"Rerun? Dwayne? Deedee? Shirley? Mama?"'' Servo is listing characters from the 1970s sitcom What's Happening!!. *''"Jame Gumb rents this shack!"'' Jame Gumb, a.k.a. Buffalo Bill, was a transsexual serial killer in The Silence of the Lambs. *''"Kevin McHale, Cross-dresser."'' Kevin McHale played for the Boston Celtics during the 1980s and early '90s. *''"Manute Bol's sister, Susan Bol!"'' Manute Bol is a Sudanese-born basketball player known for his imposing height of 7'7". *''"Letters to Der Weise Engel"'' Reference to the book and movie Marathon Man. Laurence Olivier's character, former head of a Nazi concentration camp, was nicknamed "Der Weise Engel" (the White Angel) by his inmates, and in one scene is recognized by several Jewish citizens in New York who cry out his nickname. Category:MST3K Episodes Category:Season 10 Category:Episodes with shorts